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FILE - In this March 12, 2010 file photo Mercedes Grand Prix driver Michael Schumacher of Germany is pictured in the pits during the first practice session at the Formula One Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. A Paris newspaper says seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher is being treated with a cutting-edge stem-cell therapy in one of the French capital's hospitals. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

Report: Schumacher treated in secrecy in Paris hospital

September 10, 2019 - 2:59 am

The Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher has been admitted under great secrecy to a Paris hospital to be treated Tuesday with a cutting-edge stem-cell therapy, according to a French newspaper.

The Paris hospitals authority, citing France's strict medical privacy rules, said it could not comment on the report in Le Parisien that Schumacher was admitted under tight guard Monday to the Georges-Pompidou hospital for transfusions of stem cells scheduled.

The newspaper said the 50-year-old was expected to be discharged on Wednesday and that the transfusions help reduce inflammation.

His long-time manager Sabine Kehm did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

The winner of a record 91 F1 victories during his stellar career suffered a near-fatal brain injury in a 2013 skiing accident in the French Alps.

Schumacher's condition stabilized after he was placed in a drug-induced coma, from which he later emerged. Since September 2014, he has been cared for at home on the shores of Lake Geneva.

Le Parisien, citing sources it did not name, said Schumacher has been treated at least twice previously at the Georges-Pompidou hospital, admitted each time under a false name and treated by a small medical team.

Le Parisien published a photo of a yellow and blue ambulance with Geneva plates that it said drove Schumacher to the hospital on Monday afternoon. Inside, he was taken to a first-floor cardiovascular unit on a gurney with a dark-blue covering that hid his face and body, it said.

It said about 10 security agents, some equipped with earphones, watched over the patient.

Schumacher's family fiercely protects his privacy. Thick forest surrounding his castle-like home with high surrounding walls provides sanctuary from fan and media intrusion.